Wondering Thoughts
by Let Go of My Faygo
Summary: Sometimes when you are working in your garden, your mind tends to wonder a little bit...


**This was originally going to be the next chapter for my other story "Rising Up," but as I was writing it, it didn't seem to fit in with the story, so I separated it and put it as a one-shot. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

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Hunter felt at ease at that moment. His shoulders were relaxed, and for the first time, he was slouching. He hummed a merry tune as he attended to the corn he was growing. He had gotten the seeds from the time he visited the village with Leafos. Lottie, the owner of Costalots, sat there the whole time and gushed over how adorable he was as he picked out the seeds he wanted for his garden. That, he didn't mind. But after a minute, he heard Lottie muttering to Leafos, asking her how someone of his... condition, the nice way she put it, to create a whole garden. After that, he left as quickly as he could, and decided to let Cameron deal with the Costalots runs.

At the same time, however, Leafos wanted him to buy his mask that very day. Hunter didn't feel comfortable wearing a mask, because he was not from the village, or this island in the very least. No, he and Cameron came over here from the state of Kansas in America. There, they lived on a farm and had to do what they could to help out. Cameron had always been lazy, and when he had heard about Pinata Island, he bought tickets for the next boat right away. Mom and dad weren't too happy about it, especially when Hunter decided to go as well. Not that he was lazy, of course, but rather that he saw this as a learning experience. Upon hearing the mask tradition, Hunter just couldn't wear one. Even though they now lived on this island, he just didn't feel like he should take up his tradition, as a immigrant from America. Still, Leafos tried over and over to get him to come to the village, but he just preferred to stay in the garden with all of his Pinatas, whom he was growing attached to quite quickly.

Patting the soil around he corn, his mind started to drift again. It always would when he wasn't thinking of something, and that was thanks to his ADD. There was just so much he loved about this island, yet at the same time, he just felt like he stood out like a sore thumb. Possibly, it could have something to do with his wheelchair, and he knew it. Back at home, he was home-schooled, mostly because he had this same feeling when he went to a public school. Every kid would try to sympathize or try to help him with every little thing. Hunter didn't like it when people would always gush about the wheelchair. He wouldn't mind it at first, but soon it would start to get to him. He wasn't different from everyone else. He just didn't have the ability to walk, yet he could still talk or raise his hand to answer a question. It wasn't like his brain was handicapped.

Even when he went to the village, he could hear the "aw's" and the "poor thing" sayings all over the place. He thought he had heard "not another one" as well, but he couldn't figure out what that meant. Thankfully, people on this island (with the exception of Lottie) learned to accept it pretty quickly and would be done with it. Especially Leafos, who didn't even say one word about it. She just gave a look of sympathy, and sometimes offered to help him when the tall grass would get stuck in the wheels. This thought made him chuckle, knowing that his older sister, Pansee, was the same way.

Pansee was probably the one he missed the most back at home. He would just chuckle, thinking about the brunette. She was quite tall, and very skinny, and he would always remember the little gap she had in between her front teeth. She lived up to her name, and would always be more thoughtful than others, and be as charitable as she could. He would admit that it is odd that mother would give her such a French name, but it fit her personality quite well. Sometimes, he wished that she had come to the island with them, knowing that she would love all the tiny pinatas. Maybe he would send her a Cluckles for her birthday, because she always loved fat chickens.

Hunter sighed, reaching over for the watering can. He picked it up and began to water his crops- gosh, his mind was still in Kansas. Here, the Pinata folk didn't seem to call their produce crops, and he had been trying his hardest not to say it himself. When he had left Kansas, he had been trying his to leave his southern accent behind so he wouldn't sound so funny. People often tell him that, normally when it was the Northern folk who would move down to Kansas for a quieter life. Of course, that was the stereotypical thought. Kansas may be one of the most agricultural states in the entire U.S., but that surely didn't mean it was a very quiet place. It had many people living in it from all over, each one with a different personality. But it wasn't the diversity that made it loud, but rather the language people used. The young gardener doesn't like to repeat those words, but rather just calls it the "Colorful Language," and it was especially present during sport events.

Cameron actually used to be in a sport. It was soccer, actually. He was very good at it, and it was the only thing he was ever active at. He always played goalie, and literally nothing would get past him. Despite his skinny appearance, he was like a wall. Unfortunately, he also learned cloud watching during all those games, and he decided to do it during one of the big games. He was never aloud to try out again after that...

Hunter chuckled at his thoughts. He noticed that his mind would wonder quite far over the littlest of things. It would just jump from one thing to another, going from one topic to the next. It would take him a moment to even understand where the thoughts he had would come from. Funny how watering a stalk of corn made him think of Cameron's soccer team though.

As he finished up watering the stalks, he gently placed the rusted watering can back down on the ground. He now sighs, looking around at the many other plants in the garden. Flowers, fruits, a few vegetables, and even a hazelnut tree that was almost at full growth. Sometimes he would see little Squazzils staring into his garden, as if to watching to see if there was any nuts growing yet. Hunter couldn't wait for his first Squazzil- he thought they were so cute, and they would be a fun addition to his garden. Alas, he would have to wait for the tree to finish growing, and wait a little longer for the hazelnuts to grow.

Hunter scooted across the ground the best he could. It was sometimes a little hard to move around the garden, especially since he and Cameron were getting more land for it. He also had a hard time because all his plants were scattered around the garden, and it took a lot of care for them all to grow. It also didn't help that Cameron was never in the garden, because to put it simply, he didn't like gardening. He only took the garden because when they had arrived, they had found Leafos crying. Cameron hated the sight of a crying woman, and he took it only to make her stop. That, and the fact that she was beautiful, despite her plain appearance.

The blonde didn't mind though. He loved the garden, and he had fun doing it. Sure, he would love to have some helpers around, even though he wasn't so keen on having a bunch of dimwitted Sprinkling's around. Damn, if only he was born with the ability to move his legs. Then he would have all this trouble getting around his garden, and maybe he could get it to look simply amazing much quicker.

Alas, however, Hunter grew tired quickly after trying to scoot over to the Blackberry bushes, which sadly were planted on the other side of the garden. Hunter had pretty good upper body strength, but even so, it was hard trying to pull his entire weight around. He had to stop for a moment to rest, sighing as he rested his head on the soft grass below. Right then, his mind wasn't wondering very much, other than thinking about the horrid grass stains on his clothes.

After a few seconds, the young gardener notices a Whirlm. Most Whirlms are orange when they become resident, although this one was purple, with a few blue patterns on it. Hunter remembered that this was the one who ate his Turnip, just as it popped out of the ground. The gardener watches as it slowly moves across the ground, and just like him, it grew tired as stopped. Hunter watched as it's little body rose and fell, panting softly as if to catch his breath. The young blonde smiles softly, resting his head on one hand, reaching the other one out to pet the little pinata.

"I guess in a way, we are the same, huh?" He asked, breaking the silence he had been listening to for hours on end. The little Whirlm looked up at him, as if to say "I guess we are."


End file.
